BILLINGS, Mont. -- Coming off a pair of wins last week, the Montana State University Billings men's soccer team begins its 2011 Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule with a pair of road games Thursday afternoon at Saint Martin's and Saturday evening at Seattle Pacific.
The Yellowjackets (2-2-0) bounced back last week after dropping their first two contests of the year with a pair of victories over the University of Mary (2-1) and Colorado Christian University (4-2). In the victory over CCU, senior
Garion Holian tied the school record for goals in a game with four.
Holian currently leads the team in goals and points with four and nine, respectively. Holian leads the conference in points per game with a 2.25 average and ranks 38th nationally. He is also leading the GNAC in goals per game with 1.0 and total goals with four, ranking 21st and 18th nationally, respectively.
Freshman
Kyle Emerick has the only other goals (2) for the Yellowjackets this season as he has taken just three shots this season, with those two goals being the two on frame.
Joshua Marocchi leads the team in the assist category with two, while
Clifton Thomas and
Thomas Chameraud each have one.
In goal,
Eoin Hurley is 1-2-0 this year with a .647 save percentage and 11 saves.
Spencer Miele who got the win over Colorado Christian is 1-0-0 and has allowed two goals.
As a team the Yellowjackets currently rank in the middle of the conference in most statistical categories. The Jackets have been outshot 54-52 during the season, but have put more shots on frame than the opposition, 25-20.
The Saints enter this week with a 1-3-0 record on the year and have dropped two straight. Xan Nixon leads the Saints with two goals, while Austin Kelley has the third goal on the year. All three goals by the Saints this season have been unassisted.
SMU has been outscored 12-3 on the year and have been outshot 72-50 in total shots and 38-30 in shots on goal. Opponents are shooting .167 on the Saints and holding SMU to .060 shooting.
Seattle Pacific enters the week with a 1-1-1 record on the year, dropping a 3-1 decision to Notre Dame de Namur on Sept. 8, and picking up a 2-1 victory over Metro State on Sept. 10.
Ryan Brand leads the Falcons in scoring with two goals, while Tyler Schultz has the only other goal on the year. Drew Williams has recorded the only assist for SPU this season.
As a team the Falcons are shooting .062 and .312 on goal, while opponents are shooting .087 and .413 on goal. SPU has outshot their opponents 48-46 over three matches, but have been outshot 19-15 in shots on goal.
Between the posts Zach Johnson has played every minute for the Falcons with a .789 save percentage after 15 saves in 19 chances. He carries a 1.24 goals against average heading into the week and has posted one shutout this season.
The Yellowjackets and Saints will play at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, while Saturday's contest with the Falcons will kick-off at 7 p.m., both times are Pacific Standard. Live stats will be available for the MSUB and SPU match through the SPU website or by using the link on the men's soccer schedule page.
